The community centre is located in the garden-town of Komorów, in the suburbs of Warsaw. The building borrows from the local tradition - the complex, yet subtle architecture of the surrounding early-20th century villas and local craftsmanship are reinterpreted in the fragmented volume of the community centre.

 

The idea is to challenge the institutional, intimidating character of a typical Polish community centre and instead propose a warm, inviting building. Avoiding grand gestures, the building doesn’t dominate over the green surroundings and enters into dialogue with the scale of the neighbouring architecture. The homely character of the community centre is also expressed in the use of low-key materials, such as bricks and wood.

The subdivision into smaller volumes creates intriguing spatial qualities as the ceiling heights and daylight direction change. More intimate, secluded spaces appear throughout the building, as the different volumes meet.

In collaboration with: Jan Sienkiewicz